FSU basketball lands 7-footer Boris Bojanovsky

1:14 p.m. EST, April 24, 2012|By Coley Harvey, Orlando Sentinel

TALLHASSEE — Just when it looked like Florida State's men's basketball team was about to be forced to undergo a dramatic lineup shift, the Seminoles on Tuesday got a much-needed and big — well, tall, at least — addition to their roster.

Boris Bojanovsky, a 7-foot-3 center from Slovakia currently playing at Spain's Canarias Basketball Academy, committed to FSU, joining the school's large five-man 2012 recruiting class. He is expected to sign later this offseason, along with two other players who have yet to commit to the Seminoles.

Already, the Seminoles have four players signed for next season. Only one is a forward; 6-foot-9 Lakeland native and junior college transfer, Robert Gilchrist.

FSU enters next season as the reigning ACC champion. Beating North Carolina in the title game of the ACC Tournament, the Seminoles earned their first ACC championship in school history. Coach Leonard Hamilton took home the conference's coach of the year honors for the second time in his career.

"This was always the goal for me when I came to CBA three years ago," Bojanovsky said in a release on the academy's website. "My dream has come true, to know Ill be playing in the ACC under a great coach and at a power house program."

Bojanovsky's commitment comes just more than a month after the Seminoles' latest season ended with a loss to Cincinnati in the NCAA Tournament's Round of 32. The defeat signaled the end for six FSU seniors, including senior big men Bernard James, Jon Kreft and Xavier Gibson.

Some outside the program believed their departures meant the Seminoles would be forced into shifting into a more guard-oriented lineup. Even Hamilton admitted that he anticipated needing more from his smaller ballhandlers in coming seasons because his size advantage had shifted.

It didn't help matters three weeks ago when 6-foot-9 freshman forward Antwan Space decided to return home to his native Texas and transfer to Texas A&M. With the veterans ahead of him, Space had few opportunities to get off the bench this past season.

Bojanovsky's addition will mean that the Seminoles will still see some height on the floor. The hopeful additions of a pair of other players with true post size later in this recruiting period, could mean the Seminoles ultimately will lose very little with respect to interior size.

According to the CBA, in last summer's 18-and-under European Championship, Bojanovsky averaged 22 points and 13.3 rebounds. During his recruitment, Bojanovsky was offered by North Carolina State, Virginia Tech, Miami, Georgia Tech and Mississippi State, among others.

"In his time here, Boris has become a part of my family and he is a true credit to himself and to CBA," academy director Rob Orellana said. "This is a great move for him as he is a high-level and highly-skilled center."

New FSU football offensive lineman Menelik Watson, who signed as part of the 2012 class in February, trained with the CBA when he played basketball. The Manchester, England native played basketball at Marist College for a year before transferring to a junior college to play football. Watson is expected to enroll at FSU in time for preseason workouts.